


Telling the King

by nychus



Series: Telling [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, dad!Regis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-04 23:17:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12781785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nychus/pseuds/nychus
Summary: Ignis is asked about Noctis's love life. He's never been able to refuse a question from the king...





	Telling the King

“Ignis, welcome,” Regis smiled as Ignis entered the antechamber. The king nodded towards the couch while he took a seat in one of the armchairs across the coffee table.

“Good evening, You Majesty,” Ignis greeted in return. “May I assume you would like an update on your son?”

With a chuckle, Regis said, “I’m glad that is your initial thought when I summon you. I think most would assume I want their heads.” Clarus, who had entered with a tray of tea just brought up from the kitchens also chuckled. He took the seat next to Regis and all three leaned forwards for their cups.

“Yes, well, I only worry about that if Noctis has done something to displease you,” Ignis said.

“You think I wouldn’t punish Noctis?”

“I think I’ll insist it is my own fault,” Ignis answered matter-of-factly, “which probably wouldn’t be too far from the truth as it is my job to advise him and therefore keep him from doing something untoward.”

Regis shook his head with a smile and asked Ignis to please inform him of Noctis’s progress.

There was a lot to say, as Noctis had been working to be a better prince since he got out of high school. He took his job at the diner seriously (he hated it, but he did it), made sure to read over any reports handed to him, and very rarely skipped out of training with Gladiolus. His diet was still a cause of contention and the amount of work it took to get him out of bed in the mornings was astronomical, but otherwise, Noctis was doing very well for himself.

“Excellent,” Regis said once Ignis was done. Usually this was when Ignis got permission to leave and return to his duties, but the king was pensive for a moment before asking, “Tell me, Ignis, is Noctis romantically interested in anyone?”

“Sir?” He thought his voice came out steady, but all the alarms were going off inside his head. Had they been discovered?

Regis leaned back in his chair, “It’s just, the boy is nineteen and as far as I’m aware, he’s never shown interest in anyone. Granted, my duties do not allow me much time with Noctis, but I thought there would have been some rumor floating around at least.”

Ignis said nothing.

“I suppose I’m just curious if he is interested in the idea. His mother and I were already courting by his age.”

“Is it important, sir?”

“To be courting someone? No. I just wonder if it is something I should continue to look for signs of. Maybe he has no interest in romance and all that comes with it. As a father, I’m curious, but I fear asking him would cause a scene. So, I ask you. No details necessary, I just want to know if he is or ever has dated someone.”

Oh there were a million ways this could go wrong. Was this question purely as it came off as or had they not been as careful as they thought and someone told Regis? No matter what, he couldn’t lie, but he feared that answering one question will give forth to all the others.

With a deep breath, Ignis answered, “Yes, sir, he is currently in a relationship.” He begged that there would be no follow-ups.

“Oh?” Regis’s eyes widen in surprised. A glance towards Clarus indicated the same response. “Anyone I know?”

Damn. “Yes, sir.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll let his old man know who she is. Or he. Them? Who is Noctis dating?” Regis asked. Ignis would later reflect how amazing it was that Regis didn’t pigeonhole Noctis into only being interested in women. He suspected the Lucis Caelum history had a lot to do with that.

The king had said that there were no details necessary, but Ignis had never refused to answer a direct question from his king and he couldn’t see starting now. Noctis would be angry—they had agreed to wait another month before going to his father—but the subject was broached and Ignis would be glad to know if it was okay. No matter what the outcome.

Another deep breath and Ignis forced himself to look at Regis’s face, “Me, sir.”

The air in the room suddenly chilled and all sound seemed to be sucked out. The king’s antechamber might as well have been a vacuum for all Ignis could breathe and hear and feel. He stared at the king for as long as he could, before finally breaking down and adverting his gaze to his hands. Regis was angry.

“How long?” were the first words uttered in what seemed like years.

“A little over two months, sir,” Ignis answered his hands.

“Clarus, could you invite my son to this meeting?” Regis asked. Ignis didn’t look up, but he could see the shield in his periphery as he stood and walked to the far end of the room to make a call. It wasn’t long before the vacated seat was full again.

Ignis kept his gaze on his hands, noticing every little imperfection that could be seen. What was he going to do now? Would Regis kick him out? Or at least separate him from Noctis? He couldn’t imagine he’d be allowed to stay on as his adviser if there was worry that something may happen between the two.

A buzz in his pocket jerked him from his thoughts. He didn’t dare go to answer what he was sure was a text from the prince. A second and a third buzz happened soon after.

“You may look at your phone,” Regis said, his voice eerily calm, “but do not answer any texts.”

With a nearly imperceptible nod, Ignis pulled out his phone and saw he was correct.

NC: dad wants to see me

NC: do u kno y?

NC: nothing was scheduled 

NC: a little worried

NC: Ignis?

NC: Ignis?

NC: Glad and prom are worried for me

NC: see who my real friends r

NC: u arnt in a meeting r u?

NC: Iggy?

The messages kept coming and it took all of Ignis’s will power to not reply. He wanted to so badly give some sort of warning as to what he was about to walk into. When the texts finally stopped, Clarus leaned forward and slid the phone across the table so that he and Regis could read the barrage of texts visible on the screen.

“Would I be appalled if I read through your messages to my son?” Regis asked, placing the phone back in front of Ignis. 

“No, sir.” That had been one of the earliest rules established: keep any evidence of a relationship off of phones and business emails. The point was to prove they were perfectly capable of separating work life from personal life. The contents of anything related to the Citadel never changed.

A knock came to the door and Clarus got up to answer it.

“Hey, Clarus, do you know what this is about?” Noctis asked as the other pulled the door open more fully and stepped aside.

“Have a seat, son,” Regis said, voice still eerily calm. Noctis’s posture immediately changed, as that tone only meant trouble. He then turned and saw Ignis sitting on the couch, staring at his hands.

“What’s going on?” Noctis asked slowly as he took a seat on the far side of the couch, well away from his adviser-come-boyfriend.

Regis let them squirm a little while before he finally started to speak. “It has been brought to my attention that you and Mr. Scientia have been seeing each other in a romantic sense.”

“What?” Noctis’s eyes went wide and he looked over to Ignis. “You told him? Why would you tell him?! We were going to wait another month!”

“He asked me, Highness,” Ignis said, still fascinated with his hands. “I have never been and will never be able to lie to your father.”

Noctis turned his attention back to his father. “Dad, it’s no big deal. Really, it’s just—”

“Silence, Noctis,” Regis said and Noctis immediately closed his mouth. “You do not understand the consequences that I face because of this.” Regis said, emphasizing “I.”

“But, Dad…” Noctis said quietly, though he had no idea what to continue with.

“Do you have any idea how disappointed I am? No, of course not. The young never know. Never know what their actions do to others. Never think of the results of something that seems so innocent to them.”

Ignis and Noctis both flinched at the end of each sentence; each wondering when the hammer would drop and they were told they had to break up or else.

“Noctis, do you even realize what you’ve done? Do you realize that you have taken away my Astrals-given-rights as a father to interrogate and torture the first partner you bring home? I had so been looking forward to that. I am king, I can put the fear of the Astrals into just about anyone, but I can’t with Ignis and that wounds me. You wound me son.”

It took a minute for both younger men to realize they weren’t actually in trouble. The words took a long time to actually sink in, but the chuckle from Clarus was the indication that all was well. Still, the two glanced between king and shield as if they didn’t dare believe their luck.

“I can’t even share all the embarrassing stories and photos I have of you,” Regis lamented.

“Does Gladio know?” Clarus asked the still stunned partners.

“Uh, no, no sir. No. No one does,” Ignis eventually managed to stutter out. “We wanted to prove that we were able to separate work from personal life, so we kept it secret.”

“I must say,” Regis said, still laughing a little but now relaxing comfortably in his chair, “you seem to be doing an excellent job at it. There have been no rumors of either romance or of performance in duties dropping.”

“You listen to Citadel rumors?” Noctis asked, finally finding his voice. The king shrugged playfully. “Are-are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Of course, son,” Regis said. “The heart wants what the heart wants. I can’t say it will be easy for you two, the council will have a field day, but I care not. In fact, it’s almost not a surprise, having watched you two grow up as I have.”

The smile that Regis had on his face and those words that were said finally allowed Ignis to believe that everything was okay. The king approved of their relationship. He wouldn’t make them break up or pull them apart. The weight of the world seemed to have lifted from his shoulders.

“You’re positive Gladio doesn’t know?” Clarus asked. “He’s around you two enough that I would think he’d have an idea.”

“If he does, he hasn’t shared it with us,” Ignis said. “You are welcome to ask him, though we’d like to be the ones to tell him.”

Clarus looked between the pair before pulling out his phone. There were few rings before Gladio’s voice could be heard on the other end.

“What’s up, Dad? Something wrong?”

“No. I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Okay. Am I on speaker?”

“Regis would also like to know the answer to this question. Is Noctis dating his adviser?” Clarus asked and the other end went silent for a few seconds. Then there was a burst of laughter.

“Dad! Seriously? Stop listening to the Citadel gossip chain. They bring up that rumor any time the normal gossip gets boring. Give it a week and they’ll be on to something else. Gods. Dad, really? Noct and Ignis? No.”

All four men in the room were smiling as Clarus thanked his son and hung up. They had done a good job of keeping it a secret. Gladio had no clue and if he didn’t then certainly no one else would.

“This has been a delightful evening,” Regis said. He was still smiling, even though Clarus reminded him of some work that still needed to be done. They bid their farewells, Regis promising to have them both over for dinner soon, and Noctis telling his dad he still had the opportunity to scare the shit out of Prompto.

That made the king smile even more.


End file.
